To Keep A Secret
by xxkatrina
Summary: H/D - Draco catches Hermione sneaking around in the library after curfew hours. He decides to have a little fun of his own, but when Hermione is accidentally cast with an entrancing enchantment and he is the victim, will his plan backfire?
1. The Library

**A/N:** First time trying a Harry Potter fic. I was bored, obviously, when this came to mind and I was in a writing mood! Please read and leave feedback.

**To Keep A Secret**

Hermione looked up at Harry sheepishly. "May I borrow your invisibility cloak tonight?" she asked.

Harry stared at her for a moment. "Um, yes, of course," he said slowly, fishing through his things. "What's it for?"

"Well, I accidentally left my books in the library, and I need them for the assignments that are due tomorrow," Hermione replied, reddening. She smiled and quickly added, "I'm not sneaking out, honestly."

"Like we would suspect you of doing that, of all things," Ron scoffed from the couch.

Harry laughed, causing Hermione to frown. "The cloak?" she demanded impatiently. She held out her palm.

"Relax. It's just a joke, Hermione," Harry said, holding it out to her while forcing back laughter. Hermione snatched it from his hands and headed to the door, mumbling things under her breath. It sure was lucky of them that she had forgotten to bring her wand along, or they would regret saying such things.

"What? What did I do?" Ron asked incredulously.

"I'll be back in a few minutes," Hermione said, completely ignoring his question. "If anybody asks where I am, I'm sound asleep in my bed."

Ron arched an eyebrow. "Hermione, who would-"

"Ron, don't," Harry said quickly, chuckling.

Hermione, without saying goodbye, growled as she quietly closed the door to the common room, wishing she could slam it instead.

Hermione immediately threw the cloak around her once she was in the hallway. She raced through the corridors, her heart pounding inside of her chest. She felt as if, at any second, a professor would pop out and make her do the walk of shame to Dumebledore. The thoughts sent chills down her spine. Hermione shook her head and thought, _Oh, what have I done? To leave my homework in the library, such a foolish thing... It's caused me to break school rules!_

Once she had finally reached the library, she peeked around to see if anybody was wandering the halls. When she was sure it was clear, she slowly turned the doorknob and pulled open the door. As soon as the ancient thing moved, it began to creak. Hermione winced inwardly, shutting her eyes tightly as she froze in place. She tried again.

_Creak..._

Hermione inhaled sharply.

_Creeeeak..._

Oh, bloody hell.

Hermione finally squeezed through the doorway, gently letting the door close behind her. She looked around, wishing she had brought her wand or at least a source of light with her.

Hermione blindly walked through the endless maze of bookcases, poking her head through every corner possible. _Where are those books? _While she was trying to squint through the darkness, she heard muffled noises.

Hermione froze. They sounded an awful lot like...

She rolled her eyes in disbelief and slowly tip-toed her way over to the other intruders. Her frown deepend as soon as she saw blond hair--the back of Draco's head.

Hermione could only shake her head._ Malfoy? In a library? _She thought the day would never come.

Since they were talking amongst themselves with a lamp on a nearby table, Hermione could see her pile of books on the other side of the room. She instantly smiled and made her way over, careful to stay as quiet as possible.

"It was preposterous," Draco sneered angrily. "The whole class was some sort of joke! I mean, did you see the way Potter-" Hermione didn't get a chance to see who he was talking to, but it's not like it mattered to her at all. As she made her way over to the table, she accidentally knocked her toe onto the leg of a chair. She bit her tongue to avoid crying out in pain.

Hermione noticed that Draco had stopped talking in mid-sentence. "Shut it, Zabini," he ordered, pausing. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Pansy asked uninterestedly. Hermione frowned. She was seriously in a room with the people she despised the most.

"That noise," Draco said. "Like somebody else is in here..."

Hermione's heart began to thud again. If they couldn't hear the beating from all the way across the room, it'd be an absolute miracle.

She turned around to see Draco smile mischievously at his two, what Hermione liked to think of them as, followers. "Looks like we've got a little rat in our hands."

Hermione frowned. _Damn!_ she thought. _Now I'll never be able to get those bloody books!_

"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Zabini teased, standing ever so slowly from his chair.

Hermione swallowed, clutching onto the cloak tightly. She began to slowly back up, away from Draco and the other Slytherins. If she was caught... She shuddered at the mere thought of it all.

Hermione no longer was worrying about her homework. The only thing on her mind was getting to the door as quickly as possible. _Imagine the consequences... Malfoy would tell everybody! And the first to tell would definitely be Dumbledore._

Hermione panicked, quickly turning around running into another table. "You've got to be joking," she mumbled angrily, so quietly that only she could hear. Or at least that's what she thought.

Cold air rushed at her, and she gasped as she felt the cloak being pulled from behind her.

How she wanted so badly to not be in her pajamas.

"My, my...," Draco said, smiling. He observed the invisibility cloak in his hands, running his hand over the soft fabric. He looked up at her and met eyes, quickly glancing down at her outfit. "Looks like we've got a little Mudblood running around after dark. It's a dangerous thing, really." His tone lowered. "For a Mudblood to walk around at night."

Hermione glared at him, hoping it was too dark to notice the dark blush on her cheeks. "Shut up, Malfoy," she spat.

"And _what_ do you think you're doing here, Granger?" Draco asked angrily. "Unattended, in a dark room, wearing your ridiculous sleepwear under an invisibility cloak that I'm assuming is none other than that Potter's?"

"Here to spy on us?" Pansy sneered, making sure to stand close at Draco's side.

Hermione resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The little prat.

"As a matter of fact," Hermione frowned, picking her books off the table, "I came here for these. What you do in your spare time doesn't interest me, Malfoy."

"Ah, but I think that what _you_ do in _your_ spare time, like sneak around on school grounds after curfew, interests people like Dumbledore very much," Draco smirked.

Hermione's jaw dropped as her eyes narrowed. She stepped forward. "You wouldn't."

Draco just stared down at her defiantly, not moving an inch. "Believe me, Granger," he whispered back, "I would."

With her free hand, Hermione snatched the cloak out of his grip. "So who did you come here with?" she asked, feigning curiousity. "Parkinson? Or was it Zabini I saw you snogging in the corner?" She smiled innocently, a wicked glare dancing in her eyes. "I'm sure others would have an opinion on it if I asked them. I mean, just imagine, the whole school wondering if the famous Draco Malfoy plays for 'both teams'."

Draco glared at her. "You filthy little-!"

Hermione leaned close to his face and whispered, "See you tomorrow, Malfoy." With her hand she quickly spun the cloak around her in one quick movement, disappearing in an instant.

"You better watch out, Granger!" Draco called out, glancing in every direction. Zabini quickly turned, frightened at not knowing where Hermione was. "I mean it! If you open that rotten little mouth of yours, you're going to regret it for the rest of your pathetic life!"

Hermione zoned out his voice, softly laughing to herself as she walked through the hallway. She grinned with pride. Wait until Harry and Ron hear about this one!

The door to the library slammed open, causing Hermione to gasp, and she spun around. Draco came storming out alone.

"Granger, I swear, if you-"

"Who's there?"

Hermione's eyes widened with fear as she watched Draco freeze. It was McGonagall.

"Who's there?" the professor repeated.

Hermione quickly thought about their situation. If Draco was caught, which would indeed make her the happiest Gryfinddor to ever live, he would surely tell McGonagall about her sneaking in the library at night.

Hermione ran over to Draco, clutching her books in one hand, and threw the cloak above his head. Her shoe was entirely visible, so she backed up against him, wishing it was anybody else she was pressing her body against.

Hermione could feel Draco's warm breath running down her neck and she shivered. She hoped he didn't notice; she didn't want Draco thinking about anything unnecessary. Hermione reddened. The entire time, Hermione tried to focus as she watched McGongall walk through the corridor. The woman turned her head in every direction suspiciously. She huffed, frowning, as she strode down the hallway, disappearing around the corner.

Hermione let out a deep sigh of relief.

Draco cleared his throat awfully loudly. "Granger...," he began to say.

Hermione's eyes popped open as she quickly stood away from him.

Draco muttered something under his breath, which Hermione took as the closest thing he could say to 'Thank You'. He lifted his side of the cloak above his head, but Hermione grabbed onto his forearm. He turned to look at her, startled.

"Tonight never happened," Hermione said sternly.

Draco stared down at her hand on his arm, and for a moment she seriously thought he would shake it off. To her surprise, he just nodded, walking away without looking back.

Dazed, Hermione quickly paced back to the common room. She looked down at the papers in her hands and stopped.

_Due December 14th._

It was the tenth.

"You've got to be joking me."


	2. The Accident

**A/N: **I kind of toyed with this idea and sort of added another storyline. And to clear it out, this is supposed to be in the middle of Year Six! Thanks for the reviews, they really inspire me!

**-----------------------------------**

"You look awfully tired," Ginny observed, concerned. "Are you alright, Hermione?"

Hermione nodded subconsciously. "I was up pretty late last night," she sighed. She rubbed her eyes wearily, feeling Ginny purposely nudge her in the shoulder. Ginny smiled, and Hermione rolled her eyes. She knew what was about to come.

"Who was it?" Ginny asked curiously, grabbing onto Hermione's arm.

She halted to a stop. "Nobody." When Ginny opened her mouth to speak again, Hermione instantly raised a hand to stop her. "And _nothing_ happened."

Ginny pouted. "You may be an amazingly intelligent witch, Hermione, but I don't think you fully understand the whole concept of lying."

Hermione had to grin at that, making Ginny laugh. She watched as Hermione's smile slowly began to fade away, causing her to arch an eyebrow quizzically. In the background she could hear Draco's sneering voice. Ginny glanced up at her, seeing her eyes fixed on something behind her shoulders. Ginny turned around and spotted Draco with some other Slytherins walking by. Everything seemed normal, except for something that she hadcaught.

Draco was looking right back at Hermione, a sly little smirk planted on his face.

She turned back to Hermione. "Why was he staring at you?"

Hermione quickly turned her attention back to her. "What?"

"Draco Malfoy?" Ginny replied. "Why was he staring at you like that?"

Hermione began to continue walking, shrugging with annoyance at the thought of Draco. "He wasn't _staring_. And plus, he's probably just mad that I beat his test score in our potions class earlier today."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "That's so typical of him to do that. Why doesn't he just give up already?"

Hermione shook her head angrily. "And plus, what would he possibly want with me, anyway? I'm too much of a dirty_ Mudblood_."

Ginny gasped. "Hermione, don't say that!" She began to go on about something to do with Slytherins and their attitudes in general, but Hermione was too distracted to listen. She felt hands grab at her shoulders and force her sideways so that she was hidden behind a decoration on the hallway walls.

Hermione turned around, her eyes narrowed with annoyance. "Who do you think-?"

"Keep it down, Granger," Malfoy hushed, frowning. "It's embarrassing enough that I'm talking to you, above all people here."

Hermione, deeply offended, just shot him a glare and walked by, bumping into his shoulder.

"And where exactly do you think you're going off to?" Draco asked, quickly walking at her side.

Hermione shook her head, not even bothering to look over at him as he spoke. She glanced around for any sign of Ginny as she walked. "Malfoy, what do you want? If you're so afraid about your reputation being destroyed by talking to a _Mudblood_, go back to talking to your Slytherin friends."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco scoffed. "I actually think people seeing us talk will leave a mark for you once you leave this place."

Hermione could only retort, "Yes, they'll think about me, Hermione Granger, and how the only positive thing that happened to her at Hogwarts was having the _one_ chance to talk to Draco Malfoy."

"Yes, that pretty much hits the spot," Draco smirked.

Hermione finally stopped, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Malfoy, just spit it out already."

"It's about last night," he replied huskily, under his breath.

Hermione's heart skipped a beat as she froze. She glanced around, not wanting anyone to hear about her sneaking out. She figured her and Draco talking in a crowded hallway was bad enough. "What…about last night?" she asked slowly.

Draco smiled, and Hermione knew at once that she wasn't going to like what was about to come next. "It's been pretty hard to not tell Dumbledore about this one," he smirked.

Hermione's face fell. "You. Better. Not." She pointed a finger of accusation at him as she spoke, cornering him back into a wall.

Draco frowned, slightly taken aback. "I don't see what's so useful about keeping it a secret. If I tell, you'd be gone and I'd have nothing to lose. I mean, Dumbledore would never expel me."

"Oh, and he'd expel me?" Hermione scoffed.

Draco quickly eyed her up and down, as if disapprovingly. "Of course, Granger. You're _just_ a Mudblood. After all, you've been saying so yourself. You've got nothing going for you except your brains, which only the professors are interested in. It's a pity, really. I don't see how Potter and Weasly can keep up with you. Actually, I don't see how they can _stand_ you."

"Hermione, there you are!"

Somewhere in the back of her mind, Hermione thought she could hear Ginny calling her name. She completely ignored it and stared right at Draco, her eyes becoming watery by the second. That blow was totally uncalled for, and it hit her in a deep and fragile spot. Draco's smirk had faded already by then, and they were now staring right at each other, their expressions saying everything.

Hermione slowly began to raise her hand, extremely tempted to slap Draco across the face. Instead, she quickly controlled herself and ran around the corner, running to a tree in the middle of a deserted field. She collapsed behind its trunk, unable to control her sobs. She wrapped her arms around her legs and wiped at her tears.

_He's nothing but an insensitive jerk_¸ she thought to herself. _Just trying to get the best fun he can out of me. _ Hermione wanted so badly to go right to Dumbledore's office and tell him what happened. She didn't care about the consequences anymore.

Hermione slowly began to stand, straightening out her uniform, and swayed a little to the right. She winced, resting a hand on her head as she was overcome with dizziness. She thought she could hear somebody's voice in the distance, but didn't get a second chance to listen as she blacked out.

Draco, baffled, quickly caught her in his arms.

"Granger?" he asked, frozen in surprise. "Granger, what's the matter with you? Wake up!"

When Hermione didn't respond, Draco cursed under his breath. He quickly swept his other arm under her legs and made his way to the Hospital Wing, ordering people to move out of his way. _Idiots! Can't they see I'm in a hurry here?_ He ignored the whispers and fingers being pointed at him as he passed through the hallway, especially the gasps of Gryfinddor students.

"Malfoy, what have you done?" Harry cried, running up to his side.

"For your information, Potter, I haven't done a thing to her," Draco sneered, quickening his pace.

"Oh my God, Hermione!" Ron gasped, staring at her in disbelief. He looked up at Draco with anger, taking his wand out from his pocket. "I swear, Malfoy, you better bloody explain yourself!"

"Well, would you rather me talk to you or save Granger's life?" Draco snapped impatiently.

"She's cold as ice," Harry said worriedly, feeling Hermione's forehead with the back of his hand. He followed Draco into the hospital wing, where he gently lay her down on an empty bed.

"What happened to her?" a nurse asked, feeling Hermione's head for her temperature.

"I followed her behind a tree and she just sort of collapsed," Draco replied quickly.

"You were following her? What the hell did you think you were doing?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes.

"Granger had completely stepped out on our conversation!" Draco cried defensively. "What was I supposed to do?"

"Excuse me, boys!" the nurse said impatiently. "There is no need for this noise in the Hospital Wing. Please hush down or wait outside. I'll be sure to tell you of Miss Granger's status in a few minutes if you remain quiet."

Draco muttered something under his breath as he left the room, leaving a worried Harry and an even more nervous Ron inside.

Ginny was right outside the door, having seen what had happened and heard the entire conversation. "Was that Hermione?" she asked, gasping.

"Yes, that's Granger in there," Draco replied, frowning. "Why? Do you plan on attacking me with insults as well?"

"No, of course not," Ginny said, her eyebrows raised. "I saw what happened. I mean, I saw why Hermione, erm, collapsed."

Draco raised a brow intently. "Oh, really?"

Ginny nodded. "Yes."

Draco stared at her expectantly. "Well? I haven't all day."

"It was…" She looked around nervously. "It was Parkinson. I mean, it was Pansy. She saw you and Hermione talking, and I saw her pointing her wand at Hermione. I think she said something like-"

Draco sighed, exasperated, and barged back into the Wing, taking his wand out. He knew the one and only spell that Pansy Parkinson had always wanted to use on Granger.

"What do you think you're doing?" Ron asked, noticing Draco's wand.

Before Harry and Ron could do anything about it, Draco pointed his wand at Hermione and said, "_Rennervate!_"

Hermione slowly opened her eyes, and Ginny ran into the room, gasping.

"No, wait, it wasn't _stupefy!_" she said quickly. Draco, at the side of the bed, looked up at her in surprise. Ginny continued to explain, "It was a cross between an entrancing enchantment and _Confundo_…Parkinson mispronounced the word. It came out as a spell that, well…makes the victim fall in love with the first person they see."

Draco wanted very badly to move from where he was, but it was too late. He looked down at Hermione, who was staring back up at him.

Draco was almost going to ask for a bed for himself to lie down in. _Parkinson will definitely have to pay for this one._


	3. Loviticus

**Disclaimer:** I really didn't realize that there was no disclaimer in here. Whoops. Well, I obviously don't own Harry Potter, or anybody from the books for that matter.

**-----------------------------------**

Hermione stared at Draco from across the Great Hall, her chin rested on the palm of her hand. She couldn't understand why she felt so content staring at him, but her eyes wouldn't let her look away. A part of her wanted to stand from where she was and walk over to the Slytherin table, but she didn't want to drag anybody's unwanted attention. There was something different about him, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it…

Hermione watched Draco turn and look over his shoulder. They quickly locked eyes, and he raised an eyebrow once he saw her staring back. He saw the instant blush on her face and smirked, a look of mischief sparkling in his eyes.

Hermione quickly glanced away. _What am I doing? Why would I ever look at Draco like that?_ She frowned at her thoughts and tried to focus her attention on her friends.

Ron and Harry were in a heated discussion about something that Hermione couldn't quite hear, for they were talking in hushed whispers. Every so often they would glance over at her, making her feel unnerved. Meanwhile, Ginny was sitting across from Hermione and was staring at her, as if sympathetically.

"What?" Hermione asked nervously.

Ginny bit her lower lip. "I really wish I could tell you," she said, full of anxiety, "but I don't think it'd be the best idea to let you know."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Ginny, whatever are you talking about?" she asked, smiling unsettlingly. "It's me. You can tell me anything. What's wrong?"

"Well, there isn't anything wrong with _me_…," Ginny began to say, her eyes ascending to the ceiling. Hermione glanced up, confused, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. She placed a hand over Ginny's and looked at her pleadingly.

"Fine." Ginny blurted out quickly, "It'saboutDraco."

Hermione quickly withdrew her hand, her eyes widening. "What?" she asked, reddening. By then, Harry and Ron were listening in on the conversation. She glanced over at them, feeling even more embarrassed, and stood up from her seat. She gestured for Ginny to follow her as she exited the Great Hall.

"What, exactly, does Draco have anything to do with this?" Hermione whispered, avoiding eye contact.

"It's a long story, really," Ginny tried to explain. "You… You don't remember anything, do you?"

"Would I be asking you if I did?" Hermione barked. She sighed, "Ginny, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

"It's alright," Ginny said, smiling sorrowfully. "When you find out, you have a right to scream all you want." She inhaled deeply, preparing herself, and cupped her hands over her mouth. She leaned in and whispered into Hermione's ear what had happened the day before. When it was over, Hermione stepped back, shocked and full of anger, her mouth agape.

"That vile little-!" She clenched her fists. "So that's why I was staring at Malfoy!" She calmed herself, blushing yet again. "Or at least I think that's why…"

Ginny's eyes widened, and Hermione clamped her hands over her mouth. "No, that has to be the absolute only reason why I'd ever stare at Malfoy," she said. "It's just the spell that's doing the actions." Her face fell. "Does he know?"

"We _all_ know," Ginny said wretchedly.

"Who's 'we'?" Hermione cried.

"Me, Harry, Ron, Draco…and Pansy Parkinson, of course."

"I cannot believe this!" Hermione said miserably. "I mean, I know this spell, I studied it in a class I had before. Every time I see Malfoy, it's like my mind will suddenly blank out and the spell will just completely takeover! What am I to do now?"

"Oh, quit whining," Pansy said, her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Hermione whipped her head around, a frown immediately taking its place at the sound of Pansy's voice. She took out her wand and began to point it at her. "You!"

Pansy stepped back, her eyes wide at the sight of Hermione's fury. "Are you mad?!"

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" Hermione snapped angrily. She said under her breath so no other students could hear, "Why would you make me fall in love with Malfoy? It's not as if you're never around him enough already!"

Pansy sneered at her. "It was a mistake, get over it!"

"You mean a _stupid_ mistake!"

Pansy rolled her eyes. "I _thought_ you were smart. Why don't you just figure out a way to reverse it? I always thought you liked Draco, anyway. I mean, I was there when he caught you in the library, you know." With that, she gave Hermione a wink and turned on her heel, a group of giggling girls following behind her.

"That little prat better watch herself," Hermione said through clenched teeth. She looked over at Ginny, feeling as if she was ready to explode with anger. "Me? Liking _Malfoy?_ Why would anybody ever think such a thing?!"

"She's just jealous," Ginny mumbled. "And plus, the whole group-of-dumb-minions thing is getting awfully tiring."

"Merlin, Granger, you really do know how to put on a show," a familiar voice said from the doorway of the Great Hall.

Hermione's heart skipped a beat.

_Oh no._

A part of her, somewhere deep inside, had the urge to walk away. She ended up turning around to face Draco instead. From his spot on the wall, he walked towards her, smirking as usual. Hermione felt Ginny's hand on her arm, warning her to leave, but her feet were planted firmly on the ground, a smile on her face that she was completely unaware of. She planted a solid hand on her hip.

"So, Mudblood, finally releasing all that hatred for Parkinson?" Draco asked.

"Why?" Hermione asked huskily. "You scared, Malfoy?"

Draco saw Blaise shoot back slightly from the corner of his eye. "Wait a minute," he whispered, "did Granger just-" Draco elbowed him in the stomach.

"Are you challenging me, Granger?" Draco asked, amused.

Hermione stepped forward and clutched onto the front of Draco's shirt, to the shock of Ginny, Draco, Blaise, and everybody else in the hallway who was watching. She gently pulled on it, and he didn't resist. "Trust me," she said, her face very close to his. Draco's eyes lingered on her lips, entertained at her bravery. "If I was challenging you, you'd know it."

Hermione's eyes remained locked with Draco's. She suddenly released his shirt, walking away and throwing a smile over her shoulder at him.

To her satisfaction, and Ginny's surprise, he was still standing where she had left him, a look of desire in his eyes.

**-----------------------------------**

Hermione's face completely fell as she stared at Ginny. "I wish you stopped me in the middle of all that," she said glumly.

"I'm sorry, honestly," Ginny apologized. "I wanted to, but…he was so into it and I just thought-"

"Wait, what?" Hermione asked. "He didn't seem that interested to me." She frowned, puzzled. "Or at least that's what I recall."

Ginny grinned girlishly, biting her lip for a moment. "He was all over you."

Hermione scoffed, but to her surprise she blushed. "Malfoy was just looking for an excuse to later make fun of me."

Ginny smiled to herself. "I really do wish that you remembered everything that happened clearly. I honestly have never seen him publicly flirt so much, even with Pansy."

"Oh, this is devastating," Hermione said, covering her face with her hands. "I need to find the cure to this spell or I'm afraid I'm going to…" She swallowed as her imagination took its course. She quickly shook it off and looked at Ginny pleadingly. "Will you come and help me?"

Ginny nodded. "Of course."

"Okay, I know just where to look," Hermione said.

Once they had reached the library, Hermione looked around at all of the bookshelves inside. "Where to start…," she muttered to herself.

"I thought you said you had studied this spell in a class before?" Ginny asked, raising a brow at her.

"I did," Hermione replied. "We never went over the reverse spells for any of the things we learned, though." She rolled her eyes. "And my professor thought that they weren't important to know…"

Ginny looked at all the books and exhaled deeply. "I guess we'd better get to work, then."

Hermione nodded wearily. "I guess we should." The first thing she did was go to the woman at the front desk, asking if she knew where the book that contained information on the spell was.

"Oh, yes, of course," she said, standing from her chair. "Follow me."

"Gladly," Hermione whispered under her breath, grinning. The thought of ridding this spell came with a spectacular feeling. She followed the woman into a deep maze of what seemed like endless books, until she stopped and looked for the title.

"I'm sorry," the woman said, looking over Hermione. She shrugged. "I'm afraid somebody's already checked the book out."

Hermione's eyes widened. "What? By who?!"

**-----------------------------------**

Draco lay in his bed, flipping through the pages. He lazily sighed, using his finger as a guide to skim for the spell. Once he finally spotted it, he propped himself on his elbows and read intently.

_Lovititcus…didn't that Weasley girl say that it had something to do with Confundo?_ Draco frowned. _What kind of spell was Pansy thinking of? The idiot._

He continued to read. Apparently the spell made whoever it was cast on fall in love with the first person they saw. It would completely overtake their personal thoughts and the victim would not clearly remember the events that occur because of the enchantment. _Figures._ Draco rolled his eyes and skipped the history, not interested in it at all. Then something quickly caught his eye.

'CURE'

Draco read what it had to say. He frowned at the text and growled, "Are you bloody joking me?"

**-----------------------------------**

**A/N:** Please read and review; I really want to hear your opinions! And in the next chapter is the start of all the good stuff… wink


	4. Side Effects

**A/N:** This story is so much fun to write! I honestly don't know how long it'll be and how many chapters are going to appear, but I do hope it's long because I enjoy doing this. And just if you were wondering, this chapter is not the last! Don't be fooled by this ending here.

kk1999 – You're right, Pansy does need to be taught a lesson… ;)

xxxxcrazychickxxxx – Thanks for being so supportive!!

**-----------------------------------**

Draco was startled by the sound of his doorknob turning. At once, he shut the book closed, sliding his arm and throwing it over the edge in one quick motion.

He did a double-take as he glanced at the door.

"What the _bloody hell_ do you think you're doing in here, Granger?" he cried, not able to tell if he was more angry or more surprised. Hermione whispered an imperturbable charm under her breath, her wand in her hand. That way the room was completely soundproof, and nobody would be able to hear her voice.

"Well?" Draco frowned, sitting upright. "Care to explain yourself?"

Hermione finally looked over at him, and her mouth dropped open. He didn't have a shirt on. _Why did I have to go now?_ she thought miserably. There was suddenly a funny feeling in her stomach, and she knew exactly what was going to happen next.

"Granger!" Draco snapped, although amused at her sudden realization. He watched her stare at his chest.

She glanced away from his topless body and saw the corner of a raggedy book from behind his bed. Draco, confused, followed her gaze and heard her gasp. At the same time as Draco, Hermione dove for the book and snatched onto one end.

"What is wrong with you?" Draco asked, wrapping his arms around the book. Hermione reddened, her hands touching his bare chest. Her mind raced.

"I need this book," she demanded, though not being able to remember why. She pulled as hard as she could and fell onto the top of the bed, surprised that he had suddenly let go.

"But I thought you were in love with me," Draco teased, staring down at her with a smirk on his face. She was only wearing the school skirt with a white button-up top, her hair curled loosely around her face. Never in his entire life would he have thought he was attracted to a Mudblood that was lying on his bed. He held out his palm, ignoring his thoughts. _Just imagine the consequences…_ "The book, Granger?"

Hermione smiled nervously, loose strands of her falling in front of her face. She sat up on the bed, and Draco guessed that the spell was already in full force. "You really want it?" she asked sweetly.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Does it look like I do?" he asked, trying to sound sarcastic. His voice came out shaky instead, not used to talking to a Gryfinddor this way.

Hermione narrowed her eyes, a smirk on her face. "You'll have to take it from me then."

Draco winced inside. _Damn that Pansy Parkinson._ If anyone were to watch what they were doing, they'd get the wrong impression, especially since the girl was on his bed. Draco slowly picked up his wand from his bedside table, his eyes never leaving Hermione's. He quickly pointed it up at the book, but was stopped.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Hermione said, instantly taking her own wand out.

Draco watched as his wand flew from his hands. He frowned at her. "Fine, you asked for it, Granger!" He pounced onto his bed, right as Hermione turned around to get off. He wrapped his arms around her. "Give me that damn book!"

"No!" Hermione cried, losing her balance. She fell onto him so that her back was to his chest. She turned in his embrace and was face-to-face with him. She could practically feel his entire chest through her shirt.

"Is that a blush I see?" Draco asked, smirking yet again. _Perhaps I'm having too much fun with this._ He rolled over so that he had Hermione pinned down beneath him. He snatched the book away from her, hearing a piece of paper rip. He ignored it, carelessly tossing the book somewhere behind him, and held down her arms. He couldn't help but smile at the sight of Hermione, helpless.

"_Ergh!_" Hermioned grunted, trying with all of her might to break free of his grip. When she saw that it was no use to fight, she stopped resisting, panting heavily.

Draco stared down at her for what seemed like forever. Her hair was tousled from the fight, and her eyes were wide with a look of mesmerization. Draco began to lean forward into her, captivated himself, but stopped. As if arguing silently in his mind, he dazedly got off of her, picking the book up from the floor. Hermione sat on the edge of the bed, puzzled.

"Granger, you should leave," Draco mumbled, still on the other side of the room from her. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall.

Hermione slowly got up and made way over to Draco, who seemed unnerved. She rested her hand on his chest, briefly glancing up at his eyes. He was staring down at her as if stunned, but he didn't fight back. Hermione could feel his breath quicken. She glimpsed up at him and he uncrossed his arms, his expression softening.

"Alright, I'll see you around," Hermione said softly, walking backwards. She finally turned around and headed for the door dejectedly.

Draco watched her walk away, noticing her sigh. He grabbed onto her wrist, and she turned, as startled as he was at himself.

"You better not remember this, Granger," Draco whispered hoarsely, pulling her to him. He planted his lips onto hers, pulling her close in his arms, feeling her body press up against his. He felt one of Hermione's hands run down his back and the other traveling his chest. His tongue explored her mouth as he ran his hand through her hair, smelling her rosy perfume.

Draco pulled back in the middle of the kiss, startled at himself for going so far. Hermione stared up at him and smiled shyly. He cocked his head to the side and stared down at her.

"Really, Granger, you have to go," he said quickly.

Hermione rolled her eyes, a smile still on her face. "Alright, alright." With that, she quietly left the room and closed the door behind her.

Draco stared at the back of the door, sighing deeply. _What the hell was I thinking?_ He knew that he probably shouldn't have been thinking of how Hermione got into the Slytherin dorm in the first place, but his thoughts were all over the place. _To kiss a Mublood…a Gryfinddor…a member of that ridiculous trio…a girl that has been my rival for years…although she is undeniably beautiful…_

_Stop it!_

Draco frowned at his thoughts, almost disgusted with himself for thinking such things, and sat down on the edge of his bed. He collapsed onto it with a loud groan.

-----------------------------------

"So did you get it?" Ginny asked curiously.

Hermione looked over at her. "Hmm?"

"The book," Ginny added. "Did you get the book, from Draco?"

Hermione's face flushed at the thought of the night before, unable to stop the blush on her face from appearing. "No, I merely snatched the side-effects," she said sheepishly, holding up what Ginny saw as a ripped half of a paper.

Ginny took it from her hands and stopped walking, reading it over. When she was finished, she looked up at Hermione, her mouth open in shock. "You mean as time progresses, you may _actually_ fall in love with the person? As in the spell will die out?"

Hermione avoided her eyes, quickly pacing up the stairs. "I'm sorry, Ginny, I haven't any time to talk about this! I have to go to class!"

Ginny, confused, watched from the bottom of the staircase as Hermione rushed away. She backed up slowly, still startled, and stuffed the paper into her coat pocket.

Hermione hoped that Ginny wasn't upset with her; she had seemed awfully rude to her, and Ginny definitely didn't deserve any of it since she had been so supportive. She was so confused. All that was on her mind lately was that dreadful kiss she had shared with Draco. _Well, it wasn't dreadful... No, it was anything but!_ She rolled her eyes at her thoughts. _This is Malfoy you're talking about. Snap out of it!_

Hermione walked into Divination class, which she decided to take up again. Hermione figured that even though she may not have liked the teacher very much, she wanted to know more about the subject and thought that it wouldn't hurt.

As she entered the room, the first to catch her eye was Draco, who was sitting at a table with Blaise and some other Slytherins. She blushed furiously, and Draco quickly turned his attention back to Blaise. From the corner of his eye he looked over at her again, out of mere curiosity.

"I need your guys' help with something," Hermione said, sitting down in-between Ron and Harry. "It's about Draco."

They both shot their heads in her direction. "_Draco?_" they asked in unison.

Hermione reddened. "Malfoy. I don't know why I called him that."

Ron simply scowled, slumping down in his chair.

"Um, about what?" Harry asked hesitantly, not wanting to get in the way of…anything.

"He has a book that I desperately need," Hermione said. "It's about the spell Parkinson put on me. In it is the cure!"

"Well, what do you want us to do?"

"I need your cloak again," she replied, blushing again at the thought of the last time she had borrowed it. _That was utterly humiliating._

"Plan to sneak up on bloody Malfoy again?" Ron asked, frowning.

Hermione's jaw dropped as she whipped her head toward him. "Who told you that?" she hushed.

Ron's eyes narrowed deeper. "Oh, so it's _true?!_"

"Harry," Hermione pleaded, giving up on getting Ron's help.

Harry cleared his throat, looking over at Madame Trelawney. "Class is, um, about to start, Hermione."

Hermione sadly slumped down in her chair, placing her books onto the table. She tuned the teacher out, staring at the opposite wall and only doing some minor things for the beginning half of class. Madame Trelawney was then giving out orders, and Hermione sat up attentively.

"Now pair up," she said, "and look into your partner's cups. What do you see?"

Hermione looked up from her table, seeing Harry and Ron already busy at work. She reddened nervously, seeing that she had no partner. A part of her wanted to stand up and leave; they had already gone over this subject anyway, what is so different this time?

"Well, look at that! Granger, why so lonely?" somebody taunted.

Hermione turned, looking up at the Slytherins. She glared at them angrily, but didn't dare open her mouth and tell them off in the presence of a teacher. She glanced at Draco, who was the only one not laughing as he pretended to intently look into someone's cup, then over at Blaise, who was coming her way.

"Zabini?" Hermione asked, surprised.

"I don't have a partner either," he said. Hermione could've sworn he was trying not to smile at her.

She smiled for him. "Oh, well, thanks for being a real man and stepping up." Draco heard this faintly and frowned. _Excuse me? Zabini, a real man? I beg to differ._

Blaise just shrugged, taking her cup into his hands. "Hey, I've seen this one before," he said. "It's an arrow…means the coming of love, or something related to it." He looked up, curious to what Hermione's reaction would be, and saw her eyes flicker up to Draco's.

Blaise watched her and followed her gaze, smiling at his discovery. _Hmph_.

-----------------------------------

Draco stood up and stormed out of the class.

"Draco, what's the rush?" Blaise asked, catching up to him.

"Nothing," Draco snapped, beginning to quickly descend down the stairs.

"Is this about that spell Pansy put on Granger? Or about your plan?" He paused thoughtfully. "Speaking of that, is it still on?"

"Quit being such an idiot with all of those stupid questions," Draco frowned in annoyance. "The plan is still on, as well as the spell." Draco halted to a stop and turned around in the middle of the flight of stairs. He rested an arm on the banister and said in a whisper so only they could hear, "I read about the spell that Parkinson put on Granger. The cure, as damned foolish as it may be, is a heartbreak."

Blaise stared at him with wide eyes.

"Don't ever do that face," Draco said, giving him a look of disgust. "You look like my old pet fish."

"So you'll have to break Granger's heart?"

Draco's jaw dropped at the volume of his voice. "Shut it, Zabini! We don't need anybody ruining my bloody reputation."

"So she's just a part of your plan?" Blaise asked confusedly as they continued to walk down the stairs. "I mean, _personally_, I think a heartbreak is out of the question."

"_Personally_," Draco said, rolling his eyes, "what makes you so sure 'bout that?"

Blaise swallowed. "She kept looking over at you in class. And when I said that the stuff in her cup meant love, I-" Draco stopped walking, but didn't turn around. "I, uh, think Granger really likes you…"

Draco gestured for him to stop talking, shaking his head. "I don't see your point."

Blaise looked at him and frowned; he couldn't help it. "So you mean to say you're still going to go on with this plan? If you do that, you're just bloody using the girl!"

Draco finally turned and eyed him suspiciously. _I think Granger's whole 'being a man' speech is toying with Zabini's mind. _ "What's the matter with you, Zabini?"

"Nothing," Blaise replied, shaking his head with annoyance. "But if you want to break some_ other_ poor girl's heart purposely, I don't want anything to do with it." With that, he disappeared into the crowd of students, leaving a startled Draco at the bottom of the staircase.


End file.
